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Tell Me
Delmark DE 776 (2004) [United Series]

Rare recordings by The Five C’s, The Palms, The Earls, The Drakes, The Danderliers

This third installment of United DooWops features lots of unissued songs and rare audition tapes with The Five C’s, The Palms, The Earls, The Drakes, The Danderliers and more. The Five C’s, of Gary, IN, had two 78s issued in 1954: “Tell Me” / “Whoo Wee Baby”(United 172) and “Goody Goody” / “My Heart’s Got The Blues” (United 180). Most of the material on this CD is seeing its first official domestic release, all from the original master tapes

The Five C's Tell Me Delmark DE 776

The Drakes
* 1. Take A Giant Step 2:29
* 2. Let Them Talk 2:58
The Five C's
3. Studio Chatter 0:24
4. Only By You (I Want To Be Loved) 2:23
5. Tell Me 2:45
6. My Heart's Got The Blues 3:12
7. Going My Way 2:56
The Danderliers
* 8. She's Mine 1:58
* 9. My Love 2:14
The Earls
*10. Meet Me After School 2:34
*11. I Love You So 3:12
The Five C's
12. Goody, Goody 2:37
13. I Long For You 2:36
14. Whoo-Wee Baby 3:02
15. There's No Tomorrow 2:07
The Dewtones
*16.Before I Met You 2:38
*17. Rockalick Baby 2:44
The Palms
18. Edna 2:47
*19. Knew I Had A Chance (audition) 1:59
20. Teardrops 2:33
*21. Girl Of Mine (audition) 2:15
*22. I Love To Be With You (audition) 2:29
The Strollers
*23. Run Son (audition) 2:23
*24. Fools Love (audition) 2:11
*25. Congo A Cha Cha Cha (audition) 2:39

*previously unissued

Delmark covered United/States doowops on two earlier albums--Chop Chop Boom (Delmark 703), a collection of groups that recorded on the States imprint, and Bang Goes My Heart (Delmark 761), of groups that recorded on the United imprint. This collection brings together most all the viable tracks left in the company’s vaults---by the Five C's, Danderliers, Drakes, Strollers and the Palms, plus two unreleased groups, the Dewtones and the Earls. Of this collection’s 24 tracks, 14 have never been previously released. Notes enclosed by Bob Pruter, author of Doowop: The Chicago Scene

United Records was the first successful black-owned record company. Operated by Leonard Allen, tailor, retired policeman and obviously one of exceptionally wide taste in music, the two labels (United and States) issued some of the best performances in the jazz, blues, gospel and R&B idioms between 1951 and ’57. Delmark is proud to release this important body of masters, including many previously unissued, recorded in studios which pioneered high fidelity recording in the ’50s.

The Drakes
1. Take A Giant Step 2:29 1564-4 (Tom Daniel)
2. Let Them Talk 2:58 1565-4 (Tom Daniel)
The Five C's
3. Studio Chatter 0:24
4. Only By You (I Want To Be Loved) 2:23 1460-9
5. Tell Me 2:45 1408-7 (Anderson/Nevils, Embassy Music, BMI) U-172
6. My Heart's Got The Blues 3:12 1445-15 (Miller Robinson, Embassy Music, BMI) U-180
7. Going My Way 2:56 1461-1
The Danderliers
8. She's Mine 1:58 1585 (Dallas Taylor)
9. My Love 2:14 1586 (Joseph Morrow)
The Earls
10. Meet Me After School 2:34 1636-9
11. I Love You So 3:12 1637-5
The Five C's
12. Goody, Goody 2:37 1448-7 (Leonard Allen, Embassy Music, BMI) U-180
13. I Long For You 2:36 1447-4
14. Whoo-Wee Baby 3:02 1409-5 (Anderson/Nevils, Embassy Music, BMI) U-172
15. There's No Tomorrow 2:07 1446-13
The Dewtones
16.Before I Met You 2:38 1490-4
17. Rockalick Baby 2:44 1488-6
The Palms
18. Edna 2:47 1619-4 (W.S. Marshall, Embassy Music, BMI) U-208
19. Knew I Had A Chance (audition) 1:59
20. Teardrops 2:33 1613-5 (W.S. Marshall, Embassy Music, BMI) U-208
21. Girl Of Mine (audition) 2:15 (Leonard Allen, Embassy Music, BMI)
22. I Love To Be With You (audition) 2:29
The Strollers
23. Run Son (audition) 2:23
24. Fools Love (audition) 2:11 (Lawrence Cox, Embassy Music, BMI)
25. Congo A Cha Cha Cha (audition) 2:39

THE DRAKES
1564-1565 October 19, 1955

THE FIVE C'S
1408-1409 Red Holloway, tenor sax; Ike Perkins, guitar December 4, 1953; 1145-1148 Harold Ashby, tenor sax; William "Lefty" Bates, guitar May 25, 1954; 1460-1461Eddie Chamblee, tenor sax; John Young, piano; Leo Blevins, guitar; Herbert Brown, bass; Larry Jackson, drums July 30, 1954

THE DANDERLIERS
1585-1586 possibly Tab Smith, alto sax April 10, 1956

THE EARLS
1636-1637 possibly Red Holloway, tenor sax; Mac Easton, baritone sax; William "Lefty" Bates, guitar; Horace Palm, piano; Quinn Wilson, bass; Paul Gusman, drums July 12, 1957

THE DEWTONES
1488, 1490 October 5, 1954

THE PALMS
1613 Red Holloway, tenor sax; Horace Palm, piano; William "Lefty" Bates, guitar; probably Quinn Wilson, bass; Paul Gusman, drums February 26, 1957; 1619 April 5, 1957

Album Production: Robert G. Koester & Steve Wagner
Compiled by Bob Pruter
Supervision: Leonard Allen
Cover photo courtesy Bob Pruter
Drakes photo courtesy Tom Daniel and Lincoln Mabins
Design: Kate Moss, Moonshine Design
Special thanks to Richard Reicheg and Victor Pearlin for providing the 78s and 45s used to research the music enclosed and to Jesse Change Jr. for inspiration.

Chicago’s United/States label complex was operated by Leonard Allen from 1951 to 1957, and during its existence recorded a whole gamut of styles—jazz, blues, country, gospel, as well as rhythm and blues vocal group music (or doowop). Delmark covered Allen’s doowop groups in two earlier compilations--Chop Chop Boom (Delmark 703), a collection of groups that recorded on the States imprint, and Bang Goes My Heart (Delmark 761), of groups that recorded on the United imprint. This collection brings together most all the viable tracks left in the company’s vaults---by the Five C's, Danderliers, Drakes, Strollers and the Palms, plus two unreleased groups, the Dewtones and the Earls. Of this collection’s 24 tracks, 14 have never been previously released.
The Drakes, from East Chicago, Indiana, were Tom Daniel (lead/tenor), Lincoln Mabins (baritone), and three brothers—William Anderson (baritone), Robert Anderson (tenor), and Ira Anderson (bass). Daniel sang lead on and wrote the four songs the group recorded. The first session in May 1955 produced “Mello Daddy” and “Just A Dream,” which appeared on Bang Goes My Heart. The second session in October 1955 produced “Take A Giant Step” and “Let Them Talk.” The uptempo cut, “Take A Giant Step,” is a bouncy number where Daniel sings about the steps the suitor must take to win his girl. “Let Them Talk,” is an attractive ballad. According to Daniel, on both numbers the sax breaks are by Charles Gault.
Unfortunately, for the group—as fine as they were--Leonard Allen chose not to release any of the Drakes recordings. But the Drakes—with one personnel change (William Anderson was replaced by Larry Crues)—eventually got on wax as the Dream Kings, recording a strong local hit “M.T.Y.L.T.T.,” for the Checker label in 1957.
The Five C's, from Gary, Indiana, were brought to Allen by local deejay Sam Evans. One of Evans' relatives, Clarence Anderson, was in the group, along with Curtis Nevils, Melvin Carr, and Carlos Tollever. That gives us four Cs. Nobody has been able to recall the fifth (though his first or last name must have started with that letter). The Five C's attended Gary Froebel High.
Allen took the Five C's into the studio for the their first session in December 1953, producing "Tell Me," a bouncy poppish doowop. It received good play in Los Angeles, and got the group its first notices during the initial months of 1954. The group’s second session, on May 25, 1954, produced another fine release with the poppish mid-tempo "Goody, Goody," with a flip featuring a lovely ballad, "My Heart's Got the Blues." This session also yielded a jump version of the Italianate standard, "There's No Tomorrow" (derived from "O Sole Mio") and the easy swinging "I Long For You.”
The Five C's were on one more session, on July 30, 1954, which produced--with terrific support from the Eddie Chamblee combo--a superb droopy doowop, "Going My Way," and a pop-sounding jump, "I Want to Be Loved." These went unreleased, and the Five C's were soon history.
The Danderliers, from the city’s South Side, consisted of Dallas Taylor (tenor lead), James Campbell (tenor lead), Bernard Dixon (first tenor), Walter Stephenson (baritone), and Richard Thomas (bass). The group’s first session for the States label in January 1955 produced United’s only national hit for that year, “Chop Chop Boom,” and as a result Allen kept taking the Danderliers back into the studio to repeat the magic.
The Danderliers on their fourth and last session (around August 1956)—with new bass singer Louis Johnson—produced their last released tracks, “She’s Mine” and “My Love,” which appeared in the Chop Chop Boom collection. In this collection we feature different versions of these songs recorded in April 1956 with possibly the Tab Smith band. There’s a looser and more “live” feel to them that may make them more appealing to some listeners.
The Palms, a West Side group, were Wilbur Williams (lead), Willie Young (tenor), M.C. Ward (bass), O.C. Perkins (second tenor), and Murrie Eskridge (first tenor and sometimes lead). They recorded two sessions, in February and April 1957, from which the company drew two sides for a lone single release on United--“Edna,” a Latin-beat ballad, and “Teardrops,” a pure pop number. On both sides, Williams’s lead is smooth with only subdued vocal support; and this lack of vigorous doowopping probably prevented r&b play. At both sessions, the Palms were accompanied by the Lefty Bates band. We also include three a cappella renditions of studio sides Delmark featured on Chop Chop Boom—“Knew I Had A Chance” and “Girl of Mine,’ plus a previously unheard deep bluesy ballad, “I Love To be With You,” all solid rhythm and blues numbers.
The Earls, one of the last of Allen’s groups to record, is most modern of the groups. “Meet Me After School” sounds very much like what the El Dorados might have been putting out. “I Love You So” is a ballad in which the group sings with élan and vigor. The Earls recorded these sides at an Arbee Stidham session in July 1957, which featured the Lefty Bates band.
The Dewtones, whose identity has remained elusive so far, shared a session with the Four Chimes in October 1954. The Four Chimes recorded two mediocre sides at the session, but the Dewtones recorded two excellent numbers, the requisite ballad and jump. The ballad side, “Before I Met You,” is a beautiful number that ends with a lovely bell-tone. Equally appealing is the jump, “Rockalick Baby,” in which the group has fun with some comic scatting. The irony of this story is that Allen saw potential in the Four Chimes, and after adding a new lead, Sollie McElroy, created the group that he recorded extensively as the Moroccos. The Dewtones never recorded again.
This collection closes with three audition recordings from what we believe are the Strollers, featuring two jumps (“Run Son” and the weird “Congo A Cha Cha Cha”) and a ballad (“Fools Love”). The practically a cappella renditions stand up well. (On the previous collection, Bang Goes My Heart, we have since identified the two audition tracks listed as unknown as being by the Five Chances).

Robert Pruter - author of Doowop: The Chicago Scene

Other Delmark albums in the United Series include:
The Unted Records Story (775) with Junior Wells, Jimmy Forrest, Leo Parker...
The Moroccos & Other Great Groups On United, Bang Goes My Heart (761)
The Danderliers & Other Great Groups On States, Chop Chop Boom (703)
Junior Wells, Blues Hit Big Town (640) with Muddy Waters, Elmore James...
Roosevelt Sykes, Raining In My Heart (642)
Robert Anderson, Working The Road - The Golden Age of Chicago Gospel (702) with (Little) Lucy Smith Singers, Reverend Robert Ballinger...
The Four Blazes, Mary Jo (704) with Tommy Braden, Floyd McDaniel
Honkers And Bar Walkers, Volume Three (542) with Eddie Chamblee, J.T. Brown, Jim Conley, T.J. Fowler, Wild Bill Moore, Sax Kari, Floyd Taylor
Honkers And Bar Walkers, Volume One (438) with Jimmy Forrest, Tab Smith,
Paul Bascomb, Doc Sausage, Jimmy Coe, Cozy Eggleston...
On The Battlefield (760) with Joiner's Five Trumpets, Spiritualaires...

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